I'm from the United States and I think the World Cup is cool. (I got into it in 1994 when it was in the US) Except for the knockout stage's ending.

I think overtime should be done like NHL's playoff overtime... give both teams a 15-minute intermission, put 45 minutes on the board, and continue doing this until the first one to score, who wins. I'm cool with adding extra substitutions per extra half.

What's funny though is that the NHL in the regular season does penalty shot shootouts at the end of each game now... and they're pretty exciting... so yeah, I feel that there should be an adjustment to the penalty kick shootout if we have to stick to that method.

For the uninformed, FIFA did introduce something called 'The Golden Goal' which meant that in extra time the first team to score won the game.
Didn't go down well, especially when said winning goal was maybe a bizzare fluke or indeed a bad decision by the officials. It didn't give the other team a chance to get back.
As they say...'A Lead Balloon' from the fans, and oddly enough, the sponsors....

So don't say other options weren't tried etc. They were.
And also remember that some countries domestic season starts later/earlier than others, so playing until last man dies can be unfair.
So there you have it....stuck with penalty shoot-outs.

JoustGod wrote:Perhaps moving the ball back a bit in order to give the goalie at least a chance? There surely must be a way to make it even more exciting than it is.

I think NOT, for sure!
And like AL said: "No matter what you may think, it IS exciting. "

Let me get this right. Giving the kicker an almost unquestionable advantage IS exciting? I'm merely suggesting that moving the distance of the spot of the ball back just a little may give the goalie at least a chance of displaying his great skills, also. Is that so wrong? That puts both players involved on more equal footing. Now THAT would be something to watch. Players of great skill on a level field of play, so to speak. Then, of course, we could progress to head butts to the chest to see who can knock out whom...just kidding.